ZOVA/ Just Play trial pilot

Playing to the rhythm and beat of music is a new revolution coming to sports fields – and Samoa is the first Pacific country to take part.Volunteer trainers here are among the first in the world to be exposed to the new training technique – so new that worldwide online supporters are counted in the hundreds rather than thousands. Samoa players will get an introduction to this new kind of exercise, named Zova, after a three day workshop ends on Saturday. Zova helps overcome barriers between coach and players, explains Football Federation Samoa media officer, Angela Lafaiali’iThey brought Zova in, she said, to help some players who do not always want to listen to the coaches and may find it easier listening to music. “The kids come alive with music,” says Angela Fausagafou Lafaialii.Ms. Lafaiali’i said that they brought in these volunteers to introduce Zova so that sports players including children will have more interest in trying different games.Mr. Niall McCarthy founder of Zova from Australia said that this kind of exercise will also help players to have more interest in their existing codes.Combining music with any sports, Zova is a new way to instruct sports using music. It can apply to any game, where the music will be the coach, with players concentrating on the beats from the music and learn basics of playing to the rhythm.Zova comes from Australia and uses music with basic football movements. Zova sounds similar to Zumba however Zumba combines music with aerobic, not sports.Held under the FFS Just Play programme, Zova is funded by the OFC, Oceanic Football Confederation.The two day event finished with a festival hosted by New Zealand High Commission to wrap up for volunteers and coaches.Says Ms. Lafaiali’I, “They picked Samoa as the first country because of the growing number of Just Play programme 5 to 13 years in partnership with the Ministry of Education under an agreement signed in May 2010.”Just Play is a programme run in partnership with the Oceania Football Confederation.

About FFS

Football Federation Samoa (FFS) was founded in 1968. The federation has been through a challenging period in recent years with FIFA setting up a normalisation committee in 2008. A spell of inactivity followed for the next two years as the sport was rebuilt in Samoa but the normalisation period ended at the beginning of 2011 with the election to president of Toetu Petana. Reverend Laupama Solomona is the current President and he is supported in his role by CEO Faumuina Michael Kapisi.